Greece

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The Pylos Combat Agate, an intricately carved 3,500-year-old sealstone discovered in a the tomb of a Greek warrior. All images courtesy of The Department of Classics, University of Cincinnati

More than two years ago researchers from the University of Cincinnati unearthed a 3,500-year-old tomb in the southwest of Greece. The tomb belonged to a Bronze Age warrior nicknamed the “Griffin Warrior,” and contained many treasures, such as four gold signet rings, that have challenged previous notions about the origins of Greek civilization.

Perhaps one of the most important and visually captivating finds from the tomb occurred a full year after its discovery. Researchers uncovered a carved sealstone no larger than an inch and a half wide. The “Pylos Combat Agate” meticulously displays two warriors engaged in battle with bodies strewn at their feet, with some details less than a millimeter wide. The carving is perhaps most astonishing because it predates artistic skills that were not associated with Greek civilization for another millennium.

“What is fascinating is that the representation of the human body is at a level of detail and musculature that one doesn’t find again until the classical period of Greek art 1,000 years later,” said Jack Davis, Carl W. Blegen professor of Greek archaeology at the University of Cincinnati in UC Magazine. “It’s a spectacular find.”

In a testament to the anonymous artist’s skills, it’s also worthy to note that magnifying glasses were not believed to be used for another thousand years. This ability and sophistication shows that the inhabitants of the area were creating art with an interest and knowledge of representational art not previously imagined. This new discovery, explained Davis and fellow dig leader Shari Stocker, is a catalyst to completely reevaluate the timeline and development of Greek art.

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Flying in a helicopter high above the coast of Greece, German photographer Bernhard Lang captures unusual networks of circular fish farms. The strange, ovoid enclosures appear like abstract geometric designs, hardly related to the thriving ecosystems of fish that lay just below the surface. Aquaculture is seen by many as a more efficient way to safely breed larger volumes of fish instead of harvesting wild populations, but concerns about the environmental impact near farming sites have raised a lot of questions.

“Greece’s aquaculture industry is important for the country,” Lang shares with Colossal. “Especially [because of] the bad economic situation in Greece. Fish, mainly sea bass and sea bream is one of their biggest agricultural exports, next to olive oil.” That said, fish prices have fallen sharply in recent years, further threatening a burgeoning industry.

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Subtly influenced by Greek mythology, photographer Petros Koublis waits for scenes to unfold rather than push preconceived concepts onto the natural environments that surround him. This patience gives him access to moments of complete serenity on the outskirts of Athens, snapshots of wheat being pushed softly by the wind and singular animals caught by chance in the center of the frame.

“It’s all a matter of openness, letting everything flow through my soul undisturbed,” Koublis told Colossal about his process. “The olive groves, the pine forests, the sea, or even the peacefully grazing animals in the meadows—they’re all part of a very intimate experience with nature. They are part of us on an emotional level that goes beyond our present state as it reaches back to a forgotten memory of our origin.”

The Greek photographer does not attempt to transform his subjects, but allows them to alter his own approach to each image. Beginning his artistic practice originally as a painter, Koublis began to explore the medium of photography in 2000, studying in Athens, Greece. Koublis’s first photobook INLANDS was published early last year by Black Mountain Books. You can keep updated on his photography on his Facebook page here. (via Feature Shoot)

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This amazing panoramic photograph (known as a stereographic projection) was recently captured by Greek photographer Chris Kotsiopoloulos during a mammoth 30-hour photo shoot in Sounio, Greece. The image is comprised of hundreds of photographs shot from daytime to nighttime that have been digitally stitched together to represent an entire rotation of the Earth. (via news.com.au)